Quine was interested in learning of the class’s strengths, and was pleased to find that the majority of them was strong in Spirit. She had not expected that, as Spirit, traditionally, was only evenly divided between men and women, though it stood to reason that most of the students in a Compulsion class would have come to find out if they were strong in the Talent. Many would not have come if they did not think they stood a chance. Hence the Spirit.

“Good,” she said, nodding robustly. “Now, Compulsion truly is a Talent, and is arguably the most dangerous one. However, if it is expected, or if the would-be victim is paranoid, there are specific weaves–none of which will be taught today–that can shield against it. As aforementioned, too, there is a side-affect to it, the headaches, that can belie the use of the Talent. It can be recognized. So, yes, it is a bit difficult to accomplish, and the weave is intricate to boot, which gives downfalls to the weave’s many advantages.”

Advantages indeed. As a Soldier newly transferred from the White Tower, she had learned of the Talent, and . . . was less than careful with it. Oh, she never got formally punished by the Asha’man, as she was intelligent enough not to have allowed for such a pratfall, but when a particular female Dedicated found out that her lover had been Compelled into Quine’s bed. . . . It was far more fell than anything the Asha’man would’ve meted out to her. That much went unsaid. It was because of this, she did not doubt, that Quine had lost the interest in romantic endeavours before gaining the silver pin.

Peering at the class through dark eyes, she continued. “I feel that it’s best we begin with something simple. Manipulating emotions. Now, even those without the Talent may find that they have a skill in this. All you really need is a moderate-to-strong foundation in Spirit and the desired effects can be achieved. As I said, you can change the emotions of the victim. You can send someone into fits of laughter, into angered rage, into anything you want. However, the weave has to be maintained for the sensation to continue. You cannot tie it off. You’ll find that with all Compulsion weaves, that they cannot be tied off and abandoned. Once you cease maintaining the weave, any changes will become no longer, and all changes will revert.

“There are four emotions, and we will refer to them as the Four Ad’s: mad, sad, glad, and bad.” It felt ridiculous spouting that, and she did not doubt that a few smirks peeked up amongst the students, though it would be petty to punish them. It was . . . vaguely amusing. “They are, of course: anger, depression, happiness, and anxiety. You can tweak the Four Ad’s subtly to gain a wider range of effects. For example, to achieve shame, you would mix depression and anxiety to the right degree. To achieve greed, you’d mix anger and happiness. Hatred would be an offshoot of anger, and so you would need to find the right degree of anger to do so.”

“Some will have greater ease with this depending on if you have the Talent, though you won’t know for sure until you advance to the next part of the lesson. The weave is as follows. Women, watch closely. Men, your demonstration will come soon enough.”

Touching the True Source, Quine drew in saidar. It was a manageable amount, suffice to say, as she did not like the sensation of sweetness sending her stomach into fits of leaping. Peering at the class . . . everything was clearer. Browns were browner, greens were greener, and everything was as it should always be. And so she channeled. It was a simple variation compared to the complexity of the standard Compulsion weave, a series of arrays, all melded into skewed columns and rows. She touched it lightly with Fire, streaking the weave accordingly. “Adding Fire to the weave of Spirit stimulates anger. Accordingly, Air stimulates happiness, Water stimulates depression, and Earth stimulates anxi–”

At that moment, the classroom door all but burst open, and in marched a whole row of shackled, grizzly men. The students watched in muted surprise as they entered, arms bound to each other and bodies bound to another person. They were in varying states of disarray, standing at the front of the classroom just behind Quine. Some appeared terrified, seeming like young boys, and others were cursing under their breaths. Taking up the rear was an Asha’man, guiding them. He was an average-sized man, appearing of Andoran origin, with pale blue eyes and a mop of red-gold hair to verify this. She supposed he looked vaguely handsome, though his nose was off-centre. It really was.

“Good day, Saudade,” she said, nodding. Asha’man Saudade nodded in return. “It was good that you finally managed to arrive to the class. I’ve already demonstrated for the women.”

Saudade made a sound in the back of his throat, his stone-like face untouched by a smile. “The convicts took a while longer to round up than I thought they would.” That was all he said.

“Each of you will choose one of these . . . convicts. We requested them from Aringill to train into stablehands, perhaps, though I think I enjoy this idea better. Line up right before them, though we aren’t taking them out of their shackles.” Saudade, she realized, was already demonstrating the Compulsion weave for the men, which, she supposed, would look similar to the same for women. While she was still speaking! The nerve of him! “You will practise manipulating emotion and producing the Four Ad’s as well as any other combinations you can. The weave shall be placed directly into the victim’s forehead. Remember: Air for happiness, Fire for anger, Water for depression, and Earth for anxiety. Find as many combinations or variations as you please. Begin.”OOC: So sorry about this being late! *cringes* Anyway, here it is . . . 500 words again practising manipulating emotions of any wonderful burly convict. I’ve taken artistic liberties in working out the system, so feel free to take as many liberties as you want, too. ^_-; Part II will come up HOPEFULLY on Friday the 14th. Ciao.

OOC: This is for Soldiers, Accepted, and Dedicated with the Talent of Compulsion! If they don’t have the Talent, Soldiers and Dedicated can take this for Defensive Weaves credit. Accepted, however,... more

Watch me as I alphabetize the credit listings: Accepted Medaea See, I'm impressive. Soldier Ceto Amaya is on a LoA and therefore has an extension; Soldier Toren can request an extension if he so... more

Whether she would admit it openly or not–and she knew without variation that the answer was “not”–Quine rather liked Accepted Medaea. The woman was talented in Compulsion, even beyond perhaps the... more

Toren and his lanky convict were one of the last pairs to return from their walk around the Tower grounds. Asha’man Saudade shepherded the convict back into an orderly row with his peers, while Quine ... more

Ceto Amaya listened once more as the two Asha'man explained the next and last task for the Soldiers. It was an interesting idea, and one that would definitely test each student's skill. Ceto Amaya... more

As the Asha'man delivered her final speech, telling them that Compelling someone to walk was fairly simple and straightforward—though her own smelly convict had not necessarily wanted to walk in the... more

That Quine was pleased with the progress was an understatement. Above all else, she was delighted with the fact that there was no opposition. Not one recruit raised a point of moral resistance,... more

The second convict could not have been more different from the first. He was a young man, nearly Toren's equal in height, but with thin and wiry build - all angular knees and elbows. His blond hair... more

Ceto Amaya was still somewhat disturbed from the first part of the lesson as Quine handed it over to Saudade, who began to explain the second part. Saudade instructed them to step outside; once the... more

With the small class filed out of the rooms, a light breeze touched on Medea's face and tugged at her hair gently as she listened to the instructions of the Asha'man. The convinct she'd been toying... more

Ceto Amaya found Compulsion to be an interesting subject. Yes, it was an underhanded shortcut to achieving an end, but one could not deny that it had many uses, especially in the Ambassador's line of ... more

After the introductions concluded, Asha'man Quine continued her explanation of Compulsion. "I feel that it’s best we begin with something simple. Manipulating emotions. Now, even those without the... more

Medaea watched with interest as the Asha'man deftly wove through the complicated yet almost logical weaves for Compulsion. They weren't truly using Compulsion, not how she suspected it could be used, ... more

A week after the battle, there was little sign that anything out of the ordinary had happened around the Black Tower. Here and there was an empty bunk, or a familiar face missing from a lesson, but... more

As an Accepted of the White Tower, Medaea was allowed to follow her studies as she chose—in most cases this meant that she would restrict it to the White Tower and the White Tower alone. Yet there... more